UEFA confirm Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s concerns with double Manchester United statement

UEFA have now confirmed a concern that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has previously held as they issue two statements on Manchester United ahead of 2024/25.

Manchester United will spend their European adventures during 2024/25 competing in the new-look Europa League.

The club initially did not qualify for Europe, having finished eighth in the Premier League table, but an FA Cup final win on the final day of the domestic season confirmed their spot in the Europa League.

Read More: Kylian Mbappe praises ‘dangerous’ Manchester United star and sends clear warning

However, a rather unforeseen problem has now surfaced: With United being part-owned by INEOS founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, both of the British billionaire’s clubs are in the same competition.

Initially, the rules stated that two teams owned by the same outfits could not compete in the same competition, but following talks, an agreement was reached.

UEFA have approved United and Nice’s participation in the Europa League “following the implementation of significant changes by the concerned investors” in Nice to show no one has “control or decisive influence” over both teams.

However, another concern that has been raised is UEFA informed Ratcliffe that due to the ownership situation, the two clubs will not be allowed to transfer players between the two clubs this summer.

Manchester City and Girona, both owned by the City Football Group, are experiencing the same issues.

On this, Ratcliffe said: “We’ve got a player in Nice (Jean-Clair Todibo) who was really interested in joining Manchester United, and I think he probably has the capability of being in the Manchester United squad.

“They’ve said we can sell him to another Premiership club, but we can’t sell him to Manchester United, which is unfair. really. I don’t see what that achieves.”

However, UEFA have now doubled down on their position, saying that Man United & Nice, as well as Man City & Girona, “will not transfer players to each other, whether permanently or on loan, directly or indirectly, from July 2024 until September 2025, with the exception of pre-existing transfer agreements.”

Reports last month claimed that INEOS are taking UEFA to court over the ruling. The full details of this can be read here.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Thursday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.